This Town
by hmweasley
Summary: Astrid decides that she's finally going to tell Hiccup how she feels about him.


**A/N:** **While this story was based on "This Town" by Niall Horan, it really doesn't follow the song that closely. A handful of the lyrics in the song stood out to me and inspired this story. Other lyrics are best ignored altogether for the sake of this story.**

Over and over the only truth,  
Everything comes back to you.

– "This Town" by Niall Horan

Astrid rolled over for the tenth time in as many minutes, her legs once again getting tangled up in the blanket that covered her. With a growl of frustration, she kicked out, only managing to get herself more tangled. Stormfly woke from her slumber, making a noise that meant to ascertain whether or not Astrid was okay.

"I'm fine, girl. Go back to sleep," Astrid assured the dragon. She felt like even Stormfly would be able to tell what was wrong if she looked at her. All Astrid wanted was to stew in her own thoughts, not explain them to another living being.

Well, actually, what she wanted to do was sleep, but that wasn't an option she was finding out.

Nights like these were loathed by Astrid. Most of the time, she was an expert at pushing aside things she'd rather not think about, but every so often, there would be nights like this one when she couldn't succeed. They always followed Hiccup doing something noteworthy earlier in the day. Not noteworthy to Berk, necessarily, but noteworthy to Astrid.

When he'd made the comment earlier in the day about Astrid being more fit to be chief than he'd ever be, he hadn't thought of it as a big deal. He was probably asleep that very moment, having forgotten he'd said anything, but Astrid couldn't forget.

She wasn't freaking out because someone thought she'd make a good chief. She was preoccupied because _Hiccup_ thought she would make a good chief. That felt significant, and Astrid didn't like the emotions that it had stirred up inside of her.

It had been more than four years since Astrid had first acknowledged her feelings for Hiccup to herself, but she still felt overwhelmed at times over how much she felt for him. It was ridiculous that she had yet to tell him, but she'd never been good at discussing feelings. Keeping it to herself was easier, and it wasn't like Hiccup had declared any feelings for her, though she knew he felt something. She wasn't oblivious.

And she had kissed him multiple times. Preteen Astrid had been far bolder, in some ways, than teenage Astrid. It was the feelings that had stalled her. She could only kiss him so many times before they had to talk about it, and when Astrid had been unable to do that, the kissing had stopped too.

The lack of kissing, or anything, was beginning to frustrate her more and more. This was the third restless night in the past week, a new record for her. If there was going to be a sign that she needed to get over herself, this would be it.

That thought had led to her planning what it was she would say to him, and the combination of perfectionism and sheer nerves confirmed that she wouldn't be sleeping. Instead, she sat up in her bed, staring at the wall across from her in the dark. Her thoughts wouldn't compose themselves into anything organized.

Dawn broke, and Astrid still didn't have her thoughts together. There was an increased urgency that that came with the sunlight, especially as Stormfly began pacing back and forth in front of the door, eager to go on their morning flight. It was a ritual, and one that they'd only missed out on when there were egregious circumstances, none of which Stormfly could find evidence of on this particular day. She paced, snorted in annoyance, then paced some more.

Astrid tried her best to ignore her and focus on her thoughts, and yes, it did occur to her how ironic that was when she'd been desperate to rid herself of them hours before.

Her eyes burned from the lack of sleep, and when she stood from the bed, her legs felt weak underneath her. It was a powerful reminder of why sleep was important, but she couldn't beat herself up over her insomnia. It was too late, and she had to make the most of the day she'd been given.

Stormfly soared over the island, and Astrid tried to enjoy the sensation as much as she typically did. The cool morning air stinging at her eyes did help her feel awake. It was far more effective than the coffee she had chugged before getting on her dragon. But Astrid couldn't free her mind like usual, and that left her feeling more down than she had before.

By the time Stormfly deposited her back on the ground, Astrid had resolved that she had to find Hiccup as soon as possible that morning. It was the only way she could do what she needed to before losing her resolve.

She had to hope she was coherent after an entire night of no sleep. The jumbled nature of her thoughts didn't help boost her confidence.

"Snotlout, have you seen Hiccup?"

Astrid sighed when she saw the smirk on Snotlout's face. She wasn't sure why it was there. Nothing about her question was unusual, but then again, she'd never understood Snotlout.

"He's not here," Snotlout informed her. "I'm the only company around, you see?"

With a roll of her eyes, Astrid asked, "Where is he then?"

It was still early in the morning, and it was hard for Astrid to believe that Hiccup could have gone very far before she'd managed to catch him. If _Snotlout_ knew where he was, there was no way Hiccup had snuck off somewhere before dawn because Snotlout just didn't get up that early.

"Flew back to Berk for the day," Snotlout informed her, oblivious to the stricken look on Astrid's face.

She'd spent all night working up her nerve, and it might have been for nothing. She felt so frustrated the tears stung at her eyes, a response that she would steadfastly blame on the lack of sleep if she was asked.

"Why?" She had so many questions for Snotlout, and she knew it would be difficult to get the answers she needed without revealing herself.

Sure enough, Snotlout shrugged. "I'm not sure," he admitted. "I wasn't paying attention." He scratched at his head, knocking his helmet to the side. "It had something to do with his dad. I think. I remember him saying 'my dad', so I'm guessing it had to do with his dad."

"But you don't remember if he said what it was that his dad wanted?"

Knowing would allow Astrid to judge whether or not she could expect Hiccup back in time to talk to him that day, but Snotlout shrugged again as she'd known he would.

"I zoned out for that part. And all of it. I figured it would be boring, and it was."

He'd lost interest in Astrid too, keeping his back turned to her as he worked on something that Astrid decided she was better off not knowing about. Not knowing what else to do, Astrid settled herself outside one of the buildings of Dragon's Edge, her legs dangling in the air as she stared out over the ocean. Stormfly settled in beside her, and Astrid took what comfort she could from leaning into the dragon's side.

The twins were doing something that looked painful not far from her, and the noise echoed in the air, not allowing Astrid to have any real peace and quiet. Still, it was what she was used to. Actual silence might have unnerved her and led her to searching for the twins to find out what havoc they were preparing to wreak.

She sat there for an hour before Fishlegs made an appearance. His eyes widened when he saw her, possibly thinking about how strange it was to see her lingering alone during the day like this.

"Hey, Fishlegs," she greeted him half-heartedly.

He offered her a small smile and, to her surprise, sat down beside her.

"Are you waiting for Hiccup?" he asked.

Astrid looked at him peculiarly, unsure of how he could have known that. Sure, she was showing some strange behavior, but what about it had alerted Fishlegs to the truth?

"Yes," Astrid answered after a moment of hesitation. The truth would be out there to Hiccup by the end of the day anyway, no sense in lying about it to her friends. Fishlegs' smile told her that he already understood. He wiggled a little where he sat, hardly able to contain his excitement, and Astrid felt a grin on her lips. It was nice, if a little weird, to see someone caught up in her feelings for someone else.

"He should be back soon," Fishlegs said. "He needed to meet with his father about a request for some supplies he thinks would be beneficial for us here at Dragon's Edge. Nothing major that would take ages to discuss. I'm sure you'll have time to talk to him."

"Thanks, Fishlegs."

He nodded. Astrid felt a blush on her cheeks, and she shook her head as Fishlegs ambled away in the direction of where Snotlout had yet to appear since she'd walked away from him.

They both knew what she wanted with Hiccup, was the thing. If the twins were to stop goofing around and hear what she was doing, they'd know it too. It was how things had been for years, though no one acknowledged it out loud. Astrid couldn't believe she was about to change that. She'd never thought it would be her to break the silence.

Honestly, she'd assumed it would be Snotlout saying something stupid that forced them to talk about it.

Astrid thought about her friends' involvement as the sun continued to move across the sky. She wasn't sure how much any of them knew, but they seemed to understand, at the very least, that Hiccup and Astrid's relationship was different than any of the other relationships within their group. It always had been, though it had taken a while for their friends to get that simple fact.

It was how things worked between them, and it worked so well that Astrid often forgot that there were still things they had yet to say.

After what felt like years, a small dot in the distance began to take shape as Toothless and Hiccup. Astrid watched them approach with a wary eye, taking deep breaths as she tried not to talk herself out of her plan.

Hiccup landed; their friends were nowhere in sight.

"Hey," Hiccup greeted her, eyes not staying on her for more than a split second as he worked on unpacking a bag that must have been given to him by his father. Astrid couldn't pay much attention to it, mind racing.

"Hey," she repeated. "We need to talk."

Her tone was enough to cause Hiccup to pause, whatever he'd been looking at quickly discarded.

"Talk about what?" he asked. He took a hesitant step towards her but only one step.

Snotlout and Fishlegs would have stuck their heads out of the nearby door to say something if it had been any other day. Astrid was willing to bet that Fishlegs was holding Snotlout back as they listened.

Hiccup's question was one she hadn't come up with a clear cut answer to over the course of the hours she'd been thinking about it. She should have, but all she had was a much more complicated answer that couldn't be presented neatly in response to Hiccup's question.

Astrid's eyes flickered toward the doorway where she knew both Snotlout and Fishlegs were hiding. Hiccup followed her line of sight, brow furrowing in confusion.

"Could we, I don't know, go for a walk or something?" she asked nervously, fiddling with her hands.

The lines in Hiccup's brow deepened as he observed Astrid's unusual behavior. He nodded his head slowly.

"Lead the way," he said, motioning towards the trees.

The prompt was all Astrid needed, speeding out of their outpost and into the surrounding vegetation. She could hear Hiccup behind her and the dragons romping around several feet back, making an absurd amount of noise. She took advantage of Hiccup being unable to see her face by taking a few deep breaths and trying to calm herself. It wasn't working. With each step, her heart raced faster.

Neither of them said anything until Astrid came upon a cliff that overlooked the ocean. She hadn't been heading there on purpose, but it felt fitting once she'd found it, and she settled down on the ground, resolutely staring out at the ocean as Hiccup settled in beside her.

Hiccup didn't say anything, just watched her as if he would wait forever for her to say what she needed to. Astrid took one last deep breath and turned to face him.

"We've been friends a long time," she stated, causing Hiccup's head to bob up and down.

"We have," he agreed.

Astrid sighed. This was as difficult as she had imagined it being. She had no idea how to bring up what she actually wanted to talk about. It was impossible to put into elegant words what she had been obsessing over all night.

"As far as Berk goes," she said slowly, "you were the person I could stand most when we were younger." She paused, looking out over the water, before adding, "You're still the person I can stand most."

Hiccup chuckled. "Don't tell the twins. They might be crushed. I think they think you love them, what with the daily insults."

Astrid smirked at Hiccup's joke. It was a great reminder of what she liked about him. Her feelings hadn't developed by mere accident. There were reasons for them, and talking to Hiccup was enough to put her at ease and remind her that this was _Hiccup_. She had nothing to worry about.

"Right," she said. "But what I want to say is that we've spent a lot of time together over the years. We've explored the archipelago. I know we all have," she motioned back towards Dragon's Edge to signify the group, "but the two of us have even more than the others. Together."

Hiccup nodded in agreement, but he didn't speak. His eyes looked serious as he watched her.

Astrid gathered her courage and turned to look Hiccup in the eye.

"I like that," she said. "That we're closer than everyone else. It's nice. I, uh, Hiccup, I like you a lot. And not just as a friend."

His smile managed to be both blinding and gentle. Astrid returned it, feeling a sense of relief before he'd said anything.

"That's good to hear," he said, his voice wavering, "because I feel the same way."

"Good," Astrid said.

Hiccup echoed her with a grin, "Good."

They watched each other for a moment before Hiccup leaned forward, placing his lips on hers. It was the first time, she realized, that he had initiated a kiss between them. Even though this wasn't entirely new, it had been years, and Astrid could feel how different this kiss was from the others. None of their previous moments could compare to this one and the thrill it sent down her spine.

Then, suddenly, she was being pushed to the ground. She whipped her head around, disoriented. Hiccup was on the ground beside her, slightly on top of her even, with Toothless flattening himself over him and licking every part of Hiccup's face. Astrid cringed as Hiccup did his best to push the dragon off. Before she could stand, she was being subjected to Toothless' tongue too, though not with the same vigor that Hiccup had been.

"Okay, okay, bud." Hiccup tried his best to get Toothless off her, and the dragon went easily, offering Hiccup another lick.

Astrid swore that the dragon was smirking and feeling pleased with himself. Hiccup and Astrid both glared, and Toothless chuckled, not looking the slightest bit ashamed. Hiccup continued to scold him, and Toothless continued not to listen. Astrid watched with a fond smile despite the dragon saliva coating her.

Hiccup turned to glance back at her, and neither of them could keep the smiles off their faces. At least until Toothless tackled Hiccup to the ground again.


End file.
